


Two Blondes and Two Brunettes Walk Into a Bar

by faithlethalhane



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-31
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-04-29 02:45:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5113298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faithlethalhane/pseuds/faithlethalhane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy AU. The Summer Society training house gets to host the Slayers for a week of one on one training, and the two take Carmilla and Laura out for some unwinding time. (Poor tiny light-weight Laura Hollis…)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Two Blondes and Two Brunettes Walk Into a Bar

“Ohmygodohmygodohmygod,” Danny rushed out, biting her lip to keep from squealing. “ _The chosen two._  Coming  _here. Today._ ”

She flopped herself backwards on Laura’s mattress hard enough to bounce.

Carmilla scrunched up her nose as she turned the page in her book. “At least  _try_  not to sound so excited that professional  _me_  killers are spending a weekend just a hallway away,” she muttered.

A smirk slipped onto Laura’s face before she hid it. “C’mon Carm. They won’t kill you.”

Carmilla shrugged, glancing over the book to inspect the back of Laura’s head. “Doesn’t take the sting out of all the times they tried.”

That caught both their attentions. Danny shot up to a sitting position and Laura spun around in her chair.

“You’ve met them?!” “They tried to kill you?!” they asked simultaneously, their tones an equal level of horror.

Exhaling a laugh, Carmilla kept reading, propping her elbow up with her knee. “Blonde one’s quite the people-pleaser.” She cleared her throat. “Reminds me of another certain blonde.”

Laura narrowed her eyes.

“Are the rumors true?” Danny ignored Carmilla’s half attempt at flirting. “Are they together?”

“How the hell should I know? I’ve only seen them together a handful of times. And my priorities weren’t exactly of the  _gossip_  train. More the, y’know, running from a stake kind.”

Perry burst in, all waving hands and bouncing curls. “They’re here, guys, they’re here. Everybody look  _presentable_ ,” she rushed out before disappearing into the hall once again.

Danny stood up. “I’ll go help her greet them,” she tried to say as neutrally as possible before practically running after her.

Carmilla smirked into her book. “Suck-up.”

Laura smiled and looked away. She let herself uselessly try and straighten the things on her desk, but no matter what way she put them, it still summed up to a very cluttered, very messy, and very pathetic looking desk.

_Don’t worry about it_ , she repeated to herself,  _the slayers have much more important things to care about than a messy desk_.

A creak at the end of the hall signaled someone coming, and she looked behind her shoulder in time to see the door open.

“Yoooo,” Faith exclaimed as she stepped through the door, the syllable morphing into a laugh. “’Calla! Didn’t peg you for a sorority type.”

Carmilla cracked a smile before she bit it back with teeth scraping against her bottom lip. “Might not be me but it still brings in my  _type_ ,” she quipped.

Faith’s eyes flashed amusement, or something similar. Laura couldn’t place it. “Still chasin’ ladies after all this time. Jesus, you’re pussy whipped.”

Carmilla threw her book in Faith’s direction, who laughed and swatted it away. “Dead girl can’t even deny it she’s so far gone.”

“Shut up, Slayer,” Carmilla muttered, crossing her arms and sitting back against her wall.

Laura’s eyes just kept flitting back between the two, confusion knitting her brows. So many questions, so many conflicting ideas, but all that she ended up sputtering out was, “ _Calla?_ ”

Faith’s eyes flitted to her and gave a once over, very deliberate in their downward upward sweep. And a smile so similar to that of someone  _about_  to be guilty emerged. “What’s it to you, cupcake?”

Laura frowned. “Nothing,” she stammered, “just curious.”

Faith bit her lip, tilted her head, and looked her over one more time. “Mircalla,” she answered distractedly. “I know this girl’s got enough names to choke a horse, but…that’s the name she’s got down in the infamous slayer tales. Little shit killed two slayers who got pulled into her little seduction scandal ‘cause mommy dearest wasn’t interested in their weird biologies.”

Laura couldn’t tell what was in her eyes but she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. That usually happened when she was nervous, though. “So…why with the…buddy/buddy thing?”

Buffy walked in, caught the lurking look in Faith’s eye and shook her head. “Faith, no. Not everyone has time for your insufferable mixed signals.”

Faith’s lips pressed into a flat line of vague disappointment. But it also put her back on track with the conversation, and she shrugged at Laura’s question. “She tried plenty of times to convince us of her reform. But, y’know, slaying is slaying and for fuck’s sake how many times do we have to hear the innocence plea?”

Carmilla snorted.

Faith rolled her eyes and continued. “Either way, she caught us in an…unfavorable position. And let’s just say she forced us to see the light. And when we checked, turns out she had reformed long before me an’ B entered the picture, just like she said. All those  _delicious_  mommy issues.” She gave Carmilla a smoldering look from across the room, and Laura felt a heat rising in her cheeks. Almost possessive.

Carmilla smirked and leaned forward, all airy flirting and hooded eyelids. “Don’t chase what you can’t handle, sweetheart.”

Giving her a casual salute, Faith grinned. “Keep dreamin’ you useless—“

“ _Alright_ ,” Buffy cut in. “Can you two be done with your sex dance so we can actually talk about training these girls?” She glanced around. “Oh for Christ’s sake, where’s Will and Xander?”

Carmilla grinned slyly. “I  _knew_  something was missing. It was too peacefully quiet without Red’s  _incessant_  babbling!” she drawled teasingly.

Faith laughed; Buffy shoved her shoulder. “They’re probably off seducing some poor unsuspecting underclassman.”

Buffy groaned. “Will you…at least  _try_  and go over the lesson plan while I go find them? _F_?” she added for emphasis.

“Suuure,” Faith said with a nod. “And I’ll even scope out some decent bars we can hit up after a session with the Barbie brats. I mean I’m gonna need some  _hardcore_  unwinding.”

Buffy just gave her an unamused look before heading for the door. “Oh, and Laura?”

Laura jerked her body to meet the slayer’s gaze.

“Can I get a word?”

“Uhh, I-I uhh, sure,” she sputtered, clumsily rushing from her seat to follow Buffy into the hall. “What is it?” she asked in the privacy of the new location.

“Nothing,” Buffy said. “Not really. Just watch that crush of yours. It’ll get you in a world of hurt and late night ice cream runs.”

Laura blanked, standing there stupidly as Buffy walked away.

What in God’s name was she talking about?

…

A long and seemingly useless training session later, Laura found herself carted along with the Slayers and Carmilla to a local bar. She couldn’t meet the eyes of the bartender as Faith ordered, blushing as she rushed out a request for a coke.

Once they had settled in, drinks half drunk and conversation more than going, Carmilla had taken Buffy’s hand without so much as a verbal request and dragged her off in the direction of the solitary juke box in the corner.

Faith bent her knee to put her foot up on the bench, smirking as she watched Carmilla find Buffy’s waist with her hand and guide it to a fairly decent rhythm. Across the table Laura’s knuckles were white around the glass she was holding. Faith exhaled a laugh, propping her elbow up on her knee and taking a long drink. “Miss Tightly Wound,” she chuckled. “You gotta relax.”

“How can you be so…” Laura threw her hand up in frustration as the right word eluded her; she shook her head and pressed her lips together as she thought. “ _chill?!_ ” She burst out, stumbling over the rest of her sentence. “She’s…they’re…they…” instead of finishing, she thrust her hand in the general direction of the pair.

Faith laughed again. “Dancing?” she offered.

“Like  _that_ ,” Laura said, pitch increasing as she gestured toward them again.

Faith lifted up her shoulder in half a shrug. “What can I say? She’s just got a thing for vampires.”

“You’re not helping,” Laura groaned, slumping back against the wall with half a whine.

“And  _yours_  is just marking,” Faith continued with a casual wave of her glass.

“What does that even mean?”

Laura buried her face in her hands. Faith inspected her through narrowed eyes. “You really don’t know.”

Laura lifted her head enough to give Faith a half-hearted glare. “Wow such thoughtful interpretation. You really are the chosen one.”

Faith’s mouth dropped open in shock, eyes flashing with amusement. “Oh-ho we got a live one,” she laughed, lips turning upward into an open-mouthed grin.

Laura’s glare weakened with surprise before she lost it completely, and she groaned, dropping her head back down. “I didn’t ask for this,” she mumbled.

“C’mon, shortstack,” Faith encouraged, nudging her with her elbow. “What’d you think it means?”

“That she’s gonna go through every blonde within reach until I’m all that’s left?” Laura asked, voice muffled by her arms.

Faith shook her head, sucking in a breath between her teeth in mock sympathy. “Oooooh, sorry, wrong answer. Try again.”

Laura lifted her head up a little, glancing back to Carmilla with her possessive hands and fuck me eyes and dazzling smile that flashed as she listened to something Buffy was saying.

“She’s going to torture me for the rest of my pathetic existence?” she tried again.

Faith smiled smugly over the edge of her glass before finishing off the whiskey. “Warmer.”

Frowning, Laura took her straw and sipped at her coke. “Great. I’ve got the ultimate thorn in my side.”

Shaking her glass to loosen the ice, Faith laughed. “You’re missing the point.  _Why_  be a thorn?”

Laura narrowed her eyes, lips pressing together in unamusement. “Why are you playing twenty questions with me?”

“Why are you going along?” Faith gave half a smirk, eyebrows twitching up in smug validation.

“Because you clearly know something I don’t,” Laura sighed, frustrated.

With a chuckle, Faith put her hands up defensively. “Alright, fine. It’s so you’ll never forget she’s there.”

Furrowing her brow, Laura stopped drinking, head tilting slightly.

“She’s the girl time forgot. She’s also the girl who forgets time. Forgets names of the girls she’s doomed, the girls she’s befriended. So if she knows you’re at least…thinkin’ about her then maybe she’ll be okay,” she looked down at her glass, tracing the edge of it as her smile slowly faded, “maybe exist in someone beyond herself for once.”

Laura looked down at her own hands, unsure how to handle the somber moment. “You, uhh…you know a lot about that?”

Faith stared down at her glass for a moment longer, like she didn’t hear right away. She glanced up to Laura and gave a noncommittal shrug. “Friend of a friend knows the feeling. Got the same broody thing going for him too.”

“Point is, she’s never gonna initiate  _anything_  between you two. No matter how hot it gets in those ventless leather pants. She knows better than to take the lead.”

Laura moved her straw around as they sat in silence for a moment. “Why would Buffy tell me to be careful, when you two seem so…happy?”

Faith snorted, bolting upright to keep from spraying her drink all over herself. Quiet solemn moment over, she couldn’t find her composure for a few seconds, laughing loudly in the back of her throat until she managed to take a deep breath. Even then, she gave an amused hum before finally speaking. “You comparing me to vampire twerp over there?”

Laura’s mouth dropped open. “I-it’s not that far a stretch!” she protested.

Faith licked her lips, eyebrows raising in dispute. “She meant vampire, shortie. Be careful around vampire hearts.” She put her foot down to face Laura fully, putting her elbows on the table and leaning on them. “A  _lotta_  baggage there. Lotta guilt.”

Laura looked her right in her eyes, but after a minute, she exhaled sharply, shoulders deflating. “This is all pointless anyway. Complete speculation that she’s even interested.”

Faith rolled her eyes. “Really? Of everything we’ve talked about,  _that’s_  what you’re questioning.”

Pouting, Laura whined and let her head hang.

“Hey.”

Laura glanced up. “Don’t look over to her, just keep looking at me and do what I say, okay?” she said quietly, voice low enough it brought out a rasp it didn’t have before. “Can you do that?”

“Yeah.”

Faith smiled, more softly than she would’ve normally, at least Laura assumed. “Lean forward? Mirror me, blondie I know you got it in you.” Slowly, Laura placed her elbows down and leaned her weight on them.

Faith nodded. “Can you give me a smile, just a little one.”

Laura’s brows knitted for a second before she complied. Faith smiled wider. “Awesome now can you look down?”

She did, and Faith laughed breathily at nothing, reaching out to hook her finger under Laura’s chin and gently guide it up. “Don’t look over,” she said quietly, running her finger along Laura’s jaw.

Laura’s breath caught for a moment.

“You good?” Faith asked, tilting her head a little, leaning just a little closer over the table.

“Yeah,” Laura said, a little too tightly, swallowing. “You?”

Faith grinned. “Five by five.”

“ _Hey_  what’s up Slayer?” Carmilla said a little too loudly.

Laura jumped, glancing up to catch the hard unmoving glare Carmilla was giving Faith.

“Nothing interesting,” Faith drawled casually, leaning back, arms extended and balanced along the edge of the bench top. “Just getting to know your roommate.”

Laura didn’t miss the flare in Carmilla’s eyes at the neutral title. She also didn’t miss the smug look Faith shot her for less than a second before lifting her hand up to thread her fingers loosely in her own hair. “You have a good time with B? She’s a helluva dancer isn’t she?”

“Keep it in your pants,” Buffy muttered as she slid into the booth beside Faith. Faith just rolled her eyes and let her arm drop from the back of the bench to around Buffy’s shoulders.

“Bloody Hell is that Countess Karnstein?”

Carmilla turned around, mouth dropping open with an incredulous laugh. “ _William the Bloody!_ ”

Spike grinned and laughed, walking toward her, hand extended. She took it and pulled him in for a casual hug. “Never thought I’d see you at a little bit convention.”

Carmilla shrugged. “Gotta start redemption road somewhere. Even if it means letting a bunch of idiot children try and beat me up.”

Spike rolled his eyes. “ _You_  didn’t have to live with the brats.”

She smiled casually, head tipping to the side. “True,” she allowed. “True. You think you could stay for a drink or two?”

He glanced to Buffy, who smiled, and he put his hand up in acceptance. “First round’s on me.”

…

**“** Ooookay,” Carmilla strained as Laura’s knees gave out again. “Cupcake, you got the short end of the stick. Your first drink?  _And_  you had to keep up with two vampires and two slayers.”

“ _Ididalright_ ,” Laura slurred with a giggle. She poked Carmilla in the chest, leaving her finger there and furrowing her brows as she tried to focus enough to get words out. “You…" She poked Carmilla’s chest a few more times before leaving her finger rest there again. “youwerecheatingthough.”

Carmilla faux gasped, “I take offense to that, cutie,” she cracked a smile, gently wrapping her fingers around Laura’s hand and removing it from her cleavage.  “I took those shots like a pro.”

“Nooooooo,” Laura dragged out. She shook her head forcefully and her world spun. Her hands grabbed for a steadier hold and found it around Carmilla’s waist, head resting against Carmilla’s shoulder in a trusting pressure.

Carmilla tried to hide her smile at Laura’s ridiculousness. She bit her lip to hold back her laugh, trying to look patient as she waited for Laura to continue the unfinished thought.

“youdidn’tgiveme _half_ asmuchineveryshot,” she accused with overly accentuated narrowed eyes. “ _don’tthinkIdidn’tsee._ ”

“Oh.” Carmilla’s composure wavered for a moment, and she looked down at the ground. She hadn’t been expecting that. Then she looked back up and threw a casual smile Laura’s way. “I can’t have my roommate  _dead_  or I’d have three angry gingers on my tail,” she brushed off as best she could.

Laura’s disappointed frown hurt a little, but she pretended she didn’t see. Instead, she shifted her weight to hold Laura up with one arm, the other reaching out to open their door. “C’mon, let’s get you some sleep.”

Carefully, she maneuvered them through the door to her bed, taking Laura’s hands to give her some balance as the girl plopped down.

“MaybeIdon’twannasleep,” Laura giggled. Carmilla didn’t miss the flood of color in her cheeks or how quickly she looked away. Or the pickup of Laura’s heartbeat she couldn’t help but listen to in the back of her head.

“Too bad,” she tried to joke, attempting to extract her hands from Laura’s.

Laura held fast; Carmilla sighed. This stupid adorable idiot.

“Hey cutie,” she murmured, taking a step closer, close enough that Laura had to tip her head up to keep eye contact. “You,” she started, leaning closer, exhaling just a little. She knew Laura could feel it, at the way Laura’s breath caught for a second, how her eyes almost closed. “need to let that alcohol pass through you,” she said quietly, “and then we can consider not sleeping some other night, alright?”

Laura exhaled sharply, and Carmilla felt kind of bad for manipulating her, but the distraction was nonetheless effective enough for her to free her hands from Laura’s death grip. She brushed her knuckles along Laura’s cheek before stepping away. Her chest ached at the little whine Laura let slip out, but she couldn’t do this. Not to Laura. Not to a girl who meant more than something so superficial. Especially a girl who probably didn’t even want… _her_. Not really.

She turned and went to her side of the room, kicking off her boots as she went. She wanted to change out of her shirt that reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke, but it could wait. Especially with tiny revved up ball of UST behind her. Shirt removal would be one of her worse life choices.

She heard Laura stumble to get up and sighed. “I told you to—“

She turned around to coax her back to bed but all she got was an armful of Laura Hollis and a taste of hot kisses, which incidentally tasted a lot like strawberries and rum. This nerd with her fruity drinks.

But it was hard to focus, hard to control herself as her faint heartbeat picked up its tempo and jumped into her throat. Everything in her was surging for this stupid girl, even her  _fingertips_ tingled to grab and pull and lock, but this girl was leaning  _so_  heavily against her she was sure Laura couldn’t even stand without the prop.

And when Laura sank back to flat feet, arms still draped around her neck, Carmilla’s eyes opened to find cute hazy eyes looking back with the  _stupidest_  (cutest) grin on her face. Carmilla licked her lips, closed her eyes to fight for some feeble amount of control.

She felt magnetized, pulled so fully and forcefully toward Laura, but this wasn’t her. She was too old and too riddled with scars of experiences that played out just like this one to do something as careless as a drunken night of pointless release. And even with her heart still caught in her throat, even when it was hard to breathe with this girl so close, with a tiny shake of her head, she let out a heavy sigh.

“Please,” she said quietly. “Not now, Laura. Any other time but now.” She swallowed, counted to three, and opened her eyes. She expected disappointment. Hurt. Anger. All she saw was a lovesick crooked grin. “What?” Her eyebrows quirked down.

“You called me Laura,” she said, biting her lip and tugging at her own fingers in shy habit.

Carmilla blinked. “I…I did,” she admitted.

“You’veneverdonethat.”

Carmilla braced for a ‘why,’, a question, anything short of full on interrogation, but none came. Instead Laura’s face morphed into a pout, crossing her arms more tightly behind Carmilla’s neck. “I’mmmcold.”

The corners of Carmilla’s lips twitched up before she masked it again. “Is that a statement or a request?”

Laura looked to the side to avoid eye contact, mouth twisting in a thoughtful pursing. “Whatever I can getawaywith?” she asked hopefully.

Carmilla shook her head, breathy laugh escaping. “I’m not much of a heat source.”

Laura shrugged, shyly looking back to her eyes. “Could’vefooledme.”

Carmilla tried to give something resembling a stern look, but Laura’s hopeful eyes kept anything from actually working. She rolled her eyes. “If  _anybody_  in the ginger club hears about this, you cannot hold me responsible for what they might do or any self-defense I might resort to,” she muttered, wrapping her arm around Laura’s waist and hiking her off the floor without too much effort.

She pulled Laura’s blankets back and dropped her down, scooting in beside her and covering them both. Laura wrapped herself around Carmilla as best as she could, all legs around legs and arm around waist and Carmilla just sighed and gently pried her away. “You can’t sleep if you’re death gripping,” she laughed, gently pushing Laura to roll over. She molded herself against Laura’s back, draping arm around waist and knees against backs of thighs. And she almost felt like crying when Laura’s hand found hers to tangle their fingers together.

She hadn’t had many nights like this. Of all the lives she’d lived, barely any allowed for moments so…inherently intimate. And closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, exhaling with a smile.

Laura smelled  _way_  better than her pillow did.


End file.
